Green New Deal creates clear split between red and blue

WASHINGTON - On Capitol Hill Thursday, a meeting between President Trump and Ireland’s prime minister had many seeing green.

But elsewhere on Capitol Hill, there was a budding fight over a push by Democrats to pass the Green New Deal - a plan to fight climate change in the future.

Republicans leaders held a press conference rebuking the plan.

"The Green New Deal has a credibility gap," said Rep. Garrett Graves, R-La.

"It’s fantasyland," said Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo.

Rep. Rob Bishop, R- Utah, took it a step further. "The ideas behind the Green New Deal are tantamount to genocide," he said.

Republicans complain the policies would spike energy prices and drastically reduce jobs, including 11 million in the air travel industry and that requiring every home to add solar panels would cost $8,000-$12,000 thousand dollars each – a fight playing out in California, home to House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R- Calif.

"Civil rights leaders are suing the state for climate policies that they argue drive up the cost of housing and cause a disproportionate amount of harm to the state’s poorest residents," McCarthy said during a news conference.

The Green New Deal isn’t an actual bill, but a non-binding resolution so even were it to pass it couldn't create any new programs. Still it has thrust climate change into the spotlight, which many Democrats say they’re happy about.

"Thank goodness that we are talking about it and taking this on and looking at science it’s about time," said Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash.